The Energy Fair is the flagship event of the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) and Doug Stingle is their Development Director. Since 1990 the MREA has powerfully & joyfully spread the gospel of living better on the Earth, with flair and persistence.
Get on-the-ground glimpses of the Energy Fair by listening to 2 live interviews from the fair back in 2007:
Spirit Afoot at the Energy Fair, part 1 and part 2.
Bill Camplin co-presides at the Fort Atkinson, WI, cafe, bar, and listening room called Cafe Carpe. Occasionally you'll see him performing there (as well as other places, and in addition to a load of other fine musicians) with his consummate guitar, voice, and lyrics, and with a mix of folk and rock-influenced tunes. And an awesome sense of humor.
Radoslav Lorkovic grew out of a supremely musical family from the region of the former Yugoslavia, Croatia specifically for him, and he's amazingly cross-bred with blues, folk, jazz & country music, having performed with the likes of Greg Brown and Odetta. This only scratches the surface, and when you scratch deeper you'll find an original with vast talent and ability.
We ask 3 sustainable energy professionals about their visions of our future, both technologically and personally, living responsibly on the Earth. We speak with Jeff Knutsen of A-A Exteriors, Jim Olson of E3 Coalition, and Zeus Stark of Next Step Energy. Who and how will we be as we grow into a responsible energy future?
2 of these 3 folks were with organizations at Eau Claire's first solar power conference last year, and will be back this year on Saturday, October 24th, 2015, for year two of Solar Power Wisconsin's Affordable Energy Conference.
Living well off the beaten path in hillbilly shack in the Ozark Mountains, Carolyn Carter has been singing for her supper as long as she can remember. With a voice that is soft and wild, 100% Arkansas, Carolyn plays the listener's heart strings while strumming those of her guitar. Inspired by church music and folks like Joan Baez and Emmylou Harris, Carolyn is gifted and passes on the gift through her wonderful songs.
Through the OurHighestWork.com community, George Kao helps folks work toward doing the best work they can, in tune with their ethics and leadings, and effectively. Having made his own transition from a "more, more, more" ethic to a "better, better, better" purpose, he coaches people, especially solopreneurs, in selecting their work and doing it wisely.
Dean Magraw is some kind of awesome on the guitar, not just technically, but spiritually. Dean defies labels and limites - musically & spiritually - with one review saying, quite accurately that Dean is a Jazz cat, a folkie, a rock star, a front-porch bluegrass picker, a bluesman, ... and more. He's located in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, but the universe is his oyster.
Walter Craft has been spreading his message of Serve the Song for close to 50 years, on a trajectory between Minnesota down to Florida, eager to provide a force that feeds hearts & souls and nudges the world in a good direction. Down-home, sing-along, is Walter's preference, gracing places like The Bullfrog Fish Farm/Eat My Fish or the Wrong Place Saloon.
The USA has by far the highest rate of incarceration in the world, and James Kilgore spells out the many causes and factors and results of this in Understanding Mass Incarceration: A People's Guide to the Key Civil Rights Struggle of Our Time. Looking at the War on Drugs, sentencing changes, probation/parole conditions, immigration penalties, schools as jails, and many more topics, lights go on and we have the possibility of understanding - and changing - our sick criminal justice system. James Kilgore is an adjunct instructor of global studies and urban planning at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
For much of his life of activism, Bayard Rustin was asked to stay invisible, even as he was a leading organizer behind a number of crucial actions, including the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom, because he was gay. Bayard Rustin, Invisible Activist is a biography for young folks which paints a vivid portrait of Bayard's life. It's co-written by science and youth author, Jacqueline Houtman, Associate Professor of Religious Studies & Peace and Conflict Studies, Michael G. Long, and Bayard's partner the final 10 years of his life, Walter Naegle.